Just took a reading test from Staples and confirmed that I am still a slower-than-average reader. I mean, I read a LOT, and I love it, and I’ve gotten much faster over the years. But while my dyslexia is mild, it is not something I’ll ever get over, I guess.

You can test yourself here, just remember that these tests don’t really say anything about how smart you are or your potential for success or whatever. I like to think that whatever neurological weirdness makes it hard for me to process written words also gives me a different way of looking at the world that gives more than it takes.

I wish I was capable of reading slow. I end up losing a lot of enjoyment out of books because of how fast I steam through them. The more I like the book, the faster I involuntarily read; I’ve broken 3300 wpm on Stranger in a Strange Land.

This probably isn’t the greatest of tests either. For instance, I speed up the longer that I read, and I’m reasonably sure most people do as well. Plus this is a passage with no context; context is everything. :)

Take 1 on this, I only had 1200 wpm. Reading at a higher speed like I would in the middle of a normal book, around double that.

At least in my case, it isn’t that I’m really picking up on words when I’m speed-reading; I can’t tell you what word is listed on what page, and I even stop being able to tell you when a word is misspelled. My brain basically skips over artificial / superfluous language constructs to grab the keys of a sentence (objects, subjects, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and a few other parts of speech, but no conjunctions), harvests the correct words and then plays a story in my brain. If you’ve ever seen the older kids TV show Wishbone, that’s pretty much exactly what my brain does to me.

Then it ends and I notice that I’ve lost a couple of hours of time where I’m not even cognizant of my surroundings. It usually only takes me a couple of hours to finish a novel.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that I agree that speed reading isn’t anything about how smart you are. In fact, speed reading in general isn’t even necessarily a plus, if that’s all you can read.

This map presents a world that is nearly contiguous and at accurate sizes and shapes to the continents.And there is no “correct” orientation for it (the directionality of north/south being arbitrary after all )

The downsides are that it cuts up Antarctica and distorts the size of oceans, which is bad news for sailors and penguin researchers, but for geography in general it’s AWESOME

This map presents a world that is nearly contiguous and at accurate sizes and shapes to the continents.And there is no “correct” orientation for it (the directionality of north/south being arbitrary after all )

The downsides are that it cuts up Antarctica and distorts the size of oceans, which is bad news for sailors and penguin researchers, but for geography in general it’s AWESOME

oh man wouldn’t it be GREAT if Hollywood gave Medusa the movie treatment and showed her as the tragic wronged hero she was? Just chillin’ out as a just a ordinary woman until Poseidon raped her in Athena’s temple and instead of being like “DUDE UNCLE NO WTF ARE YOU DOING?!” and smiting him, Athena punished the victim and turned her into a monster with snakes for hair…only wait Athena isn’t an idiot and how could she even punish the god of the sea? But she could give Medusa the power to make sure no man ever laid a goddamn finger on her again. Until Perseus traipsed in and fucked it all up. Way to go idiot. I bet if you’d just asked nicely she might have turned shit to stone for you.

oh man wouldn’t it be GREAT if Hollywood gave Medusa the movie treatment and showed her as the tragic wronged hero she was? Just chillin’ out as a just a ordinary woman until Poseidon raped her in Athena’s temple and instead of being like “DUDE UNCLE NO WTF ARE YOU DOING?!” and smiting him, Athena punished the victim and turned her into a monster with snakes for hair…only wait Athena isn’t an idiot and how could she even punish the god of the sea? But she could give Medusa the power to make sure no man ever laid a goddamn finger on her again. Until Perseus traipsed in and fucked it all up. Way to go idiot. I bet if you’d just asked nicely she might have turned shit to stone for you.

The days have grown cold and short, Lovecraftian Solstice Carols can be heard on the wind, and in the Portland, OR home of Maika, co-editor of the Geyser of Awesome, the spot on the living room floor where betentacled trees have stood in years past has suddenly begun to darken and roil. Cthulhumas approaches and it’s time to pay tribute.

Dread Cthulhu still waits dreaming, but this year the Cthulhumas tree awoke. Its eyes are a pair of Giant Christmas Tree Googly Eyes that were altered with spray paint, paint pens, and markers. The wings were made using wire hangers, floral wire and tape, green cellophane, and the helpful guidance of a wing-making Instructable created by mercifulmaenad. Small sacrifices of blood, skin, and cherished cloth were made in the process and eldritch incantations were murmured.

Now the tree watches, unblinking. Sometime, just of the corner of an eye, the blue lights flicker and its tentacles appear to writhe. In the middle of the night the soft rustling of cellophane wings has been heard. The tree never sleeps.

Merry Cthulhumas friends. May the deep dark sleep of the Great Old Ones continue undisturbed.

The days have grown cold and short, Lovecraftian Solstice Carols can be heard on the wind, and in the Portland, OR home of Maika, co-editor of the Geyser of Awesome, the spot on the living room floor where betentacled trees have stood in years past has suddenly begun to darken and roil. Cthulhumas approaches and it’s time to pay tribute.

Dread Cthulhu still waits dreaming, but this year the Cthulhumas tree awoke. Its eyes are a pair of Giant Christmas Tree Googly Eyes that were altered with spray paint, paint pens, and markers. The wings were made using wire hangers, floral wire and tape, green cellophane, and the helpful guidance of a wing-making Instructable created by mercifulmaenad. Small sacrifices of blood, skin, and cherished cloth were made in the process and eldritch incantations were murmured.

Now the tree watches, unblinking. Sometime, just of the corner of an eye, the blue lights flicker and its tentacles appear to writhe. In the middle of the night the soft rustling of cellophane wings has been heard. The tree never sleeps.

Merry Cthulhumas friends. May the deep dark sleep of the Great Old Ones continue undisturbed.

The days have grown cold and short, Lovecraftian Solstice Carols can be heard on the wind, and in the Portland, OR home of Maika, co-editor of the Geyser of Awesome, the spot on the living room floor where betentacled trees have stood in years past has suddenly begun to darken and roil. Cthulhumas approaches and it’s time to pay tribute.

Dread Cthulhu still waits dreaming, but this year the Cthulhumas tree awoke. Its eyes are a pair of Giant Christmas Tree Googly Eyes that were altered with spray paint, paint pens, and markers. The wings were made using wire hangers, floral wire and tape, green cellophane, and the helpful guidance of a wing-making Instructable created by mercifulmaenad. Small sacrifices of blood, skin, and cherished cloth were made in the process and eldritch incantations were murmured.

Now the tree watches, unblinking. Sometime, just of the corner of an eye, the blue lights flicker and its tentacles appear to writhe. In the middle of the night the soft rustling of cellophane wings has been heard. The tree never sleeps.

Merry Cthulhumas friends. May the deep dark sleep of the Great Old Ones continue undisturbed.

The days have grown cold and short, Lovecraftian Solstice Carols can be heard on the wind, and in the Portland, OR home of Maika, co-editor of the Geyser of Awesome, the spot on the living room floor where betentacled trees have stood in years past has suddenly begun to darken and roil. Cthulhumas approaches and it’s time to pay tribute.

Dread Cthulhu still waits dreaming, but this year the Cthulhumas tree awoke. Its eyes are a pair of Giant Christmas Tree Googly Eyes that were altered with spray paint, paint pens, and markers. The wings were made using wire hangers, floral wire and tape, green cellophane, and the helpful guidance of a wing-making Instructable created by mercifulmaenad. Small sacrifices of blood, skin, and cherished cloth were made in the process and eldritch incantations were murmured.

Now the tree watches, unblinking. Sometime, just of the corner of an eye, the blue lights flicker and its tentacles appear to writhe. In the middle of the night the soft rustling of cellophane wings has been heard. The tree never sleeps.

Merry Cthulhumas friends. May the deep dark sleep of the Great Old Ones continue undisturbed.